Meph Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 Hey guys, Im gonna start wiring up my datsun soon, I was wondering how the lights are activated for the brakes? Is theres a switch the pedal trips or some kind of circuit the pedal completes when pushed? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rolling Parts Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 First gen Z's brake pedals push/depress a switch to complete the circuit. 2nd gen ZX's brake pedals opens(moves away from) a switch to turn the lights on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhm Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 The switch is located underneath the dash, either directly behind or directly in front of, the pivot point on which the brake pedal is mounted. As Rolling Parts indicated, it's a simple spring-loaded on-off switch. It can be adjusted by moving it closer or further from the brake pedal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pharaohabq Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 (edited) YEah, wut he sed... the switches are easilly replaced with whatever type you really need. so normally open, or normally closed are easy. it's amazing how many Z's have this switch go bad on them, I've seen 3 in the past year (including my 78) go bad. Your car looks like a 240z so it's going to be the push switch. normally closed. when you push the brake, it lets go of the button and allows it to close the circuit to turn on the tail lights... oh I was going to say, some later S30's have a rubber pad that pushes the button, over time that rubber can fall off and poof no brake lights. nissan still sells the rubber pads. Edited July 31, 2009 by Pharaohabq rubber pad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
78nismoZ Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 My switch hasnt gone bad yet but I think its coming....my lights spiratically work and dont work....ill look into it soon... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b0bnuts Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 I'm pretty sure mine just went bad. I was headed to a meet and noticed my brake lights were not working. The tail lights work when the lights are on, and the brake lights work for the blinkers. I'm guessing I should brake out the multimeter and check out the switch... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoov100 Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 2nd gen ZX's brake pedals opens(moves away from) a switch to turn the lights on. all z's up to 89 use it. (havent looked at z32's z33's or z34's) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b0bnuts Posted September 12, 2009 Share Posted September 12, 2009 So I checked my brake switch today, and I'm getting volts when the brake pedal is not pushed, and none when the pedal is depressed. So it sounds like my switch is fine. My hazards and blinkers work as well. I checked my fuses and none are blown. Interesting the top two on the left were the only two not getting any power, and when I unplugged the lower of the two all of the relays clicked. Any other suggestions on where to look next? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayBee280 Posted September 13, 2009 Share Posted September 13, 2009 Im having this same problem on my 280z right now. The brake light switch is brand new my hazards blinkers work. no fuses are blow the relays are fine. I dont know where to look but im checking the schematic right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoov100 Posted September 13, 2009 Share Posted September 13, 2009 have you checked your grounds? (both of you) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b0bnuts Posted September 13, 2009 Share Posted September 13, 2009 Thanks hoov, just checked the fuse box and it was grounded. Demounted and remounted the fuse box fixed my issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zuum Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 For those with brake light problems, check out my build thread, I made it look simple, and it IS. As stock the brakes and signals have power passing through the hazard switch... so that when the hazards are on nothing else works. The hazard switch usually isn't the problem since it doesn't get used very often, also power for brakes and signals both pass through the signal switch, so that when you use the signals the brake light on each particular side blinks even when brakes are pressed. This is all too complicated, and the EURO taillights (half red, half amber) a much better in this regard, what I did was retain the stock all red lights and make them operate the way the euro lights do. http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=153150 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoov100 Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 For those with brake light problems, check out my build thread, I made it look simple, and it IS. As stock the brakes and signals have power passing through the hazard switch... so that when the hazards are on nothing else works. The hazard switch usually isn't the problem since it doesn't get used very often, also power for brakes and signals both pass through the signal switch, so that when you use the signals the brake light on each particular side blinks even when brakes are pressed. This is all too complicated, and the EURO taillights (half red, half amber) a much better in this regard, what I did was retain the stock all red lights and make them operate the way the euro lights do. http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=153150 could datsun make the electrical system in these cars any more of a pain? When i did my wiring harness, I made everything independent of each other, it grossly over simplifies the system and works REALLY good, but you have to build your own wiring harness though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zuum Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 could datsun make the electrical system in these cars any more of a pain? When i did my wiring harness, I made everything independent of each other, it grossly over simplifies the system and works REALLY good, but you have to build your own wiring harness though. lol, yeah, normally on US models the light in the bottom of the housing in for the parking light, and the two in the top are brake/signal, when I saw the way the taillights are wired (shown in my thread), I figure making the simple mods I did was the ONLY way to improve the wiring. Not only is the system better, but now the car will be much more easily seen by cars from behind, and the brake lights are BRIGHT, when I let my wife test drive it I got to see it in full summer sun and the brake lights were VERY visible. What a difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoov100 Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 lol, yeah, normally on US models the light in the bottom of the housing in for the parking light, and the two in the top are brake/signal, when I saw the way the taillights are wired (shown in my thread), I figure making the simple mods I did was the ONLY way to improve the wiring. Not only is the system better, but now the car will be much more easily seen by cars from behind, and the brake lights are BRIGHT, when I let my wife test drive it I got to see it in full summer sun and the brake lights were VERY visible. What a difference. So i wasnt seeing things, I thought it was supposed to be, the two lights at the top for tail light and brake light, and the bottom, backup and turn signal.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zuum Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 So i wasnt seeing things, I thought it was supposed to be, the two lights at the top for tail light and brake light, and the bottom, backup and turn signal.. Yep, all the light sockets are able to swap between any other lense too, so that made the conversion EASY. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rolling Parts Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 could datsun make the electrical system in these cars any more of a pain? You're kidding, right? The system was light years ahead of the British cars of the day. I'm impressed that most still work reasonably well after 35 years! Yea, grounds and contact corrosion seem to be the most of the problems. Though if you think that refurbing an early z electrical system is rough, I can't imagine the issues that a 370Z will have in 35 years time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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